


all i need are the things i like

by glorybringer



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, madarashi in the background, one-sided madaleo, that one keileo fake-dating au no one asked for, this is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-09 01:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11659110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorybringer/pseuds/glorybringer
Summary: “I need you to pretend you’re dating me for a while.”“What?”“You heard me!”“No way.” Keito replies blunty.“Uh, what a quick reply!” Leo tilts his head, letting his eyes wander for the room, behind Keito, anywhere to not look at him directly “However, I think it’s a bit too late to say no, wahah...”In which Leo gets his heart broken and Keito is there to put the pieces back together. And it works better than they expected.





	1. fyrsta

**Author's Note:**

> can't believe we're doing this my dudes but here we go  
> this is probably the longest thing i've written so far and it's not finished yet. i've been working on this fic for so long now, i have written some chapters already, more are planned, and i wasn't really sure what to do but! i decided to post it in the end because - well, why not. might as well share some keileo content since they have none.  
> special thanks go to dorothy and nari ;; my little stars who are holding my hands in this long journey  
> uuuuh that's it i suppose? enjoy...!

Leo has been thinking about this day for a very long time, training himself to be ready to deal with every sort of outcome or complication. When he left the bed that morning, he knew he was going to do it: he was going to voice the feelings he had been hiding for months at this point in time.  
A confession.  
It couldn’t be _that_ hard if compared to all the things he had been through in his life.  
Leo looked at himself in the mirror, shot a smile at his reflection and walked out of the apartment. 

(...)

“Arashi-kun and I are dating!”

Leo supposes the feeling is the closest to how drowning would be like: breathing seems hard for a moment, his heart skips a beat, he doesn’t know how to react, so he lets the waves bring him down. It’s dark, it’s heavy, it presses on his chest.  
The smell of the coffee is suddenly unbearable, the slow music ringing in the background, the soft colors of the café, everything is suffocating.  
Everything is wrong.

It’s not like Leo had high hopes, it’s not like he had let himself bask in the thought of an absolute victory. That would have been stupid of him, so he warned himself since the beginning. He knew failure was one of the possibilities. He prepared himself to every scenario, yet he forgot this one; the most obvious one didn’t cross his mind, not even for a moment.  
Because he’s Madara’s best friend and he should know better. Because Naru is such a precious friend for him, Leo should know.  
But now, now he knows nothing, ending up feeling lost in the same world he loves so dearly. He loves it so dearly and it crumbles all around him.  
What a fragile illusion, what a gullible dream.

“Leo-san?” Madara calls him and Leo raises his head - what a terrible decision - only to meet Madara’s green eyes shining with happiness.  
Somewhere, in Leo’s chest, that light hurts.

“That’s great! Wahahah! I didn’t expect it, it came off as a surprise! Naru is a great guy,” Leo brings his eyes down to his slice of strawberry cake and it doesn’t look as good as it did a couple of minutes ago. He shows Madara the brightest, biggest smile, he can put up.  
_This will do,_ Leo tells himself, even if the curve on his lips does not reach his eyes.  
This will do. 

“And you are too, of course! You guys are perfect for each other!”

Madara laughs softly, a shade of pink spreads on his face.  
They deserve each other, they really do. Arashi would know how to make Madara happy, and isn’t Madara’s happiness the most important thing, after all? 

It is, but it hurts. Deep down, it really does hurt. 

Because Leo loved, once again, and couldn’t be able to be loved back. Once again. It must be a curse, Leo thinks. Maybe there’s no hope for people like him. Who would love such a broken, dirty being, after all.

(...) 

This wasn’t how Leo planned to spend his day. But it is no surprise that plans don’t always go the way you want them to. So Leo is now sitting in front of his roommate, Keito, tapping on his knee nervously, looking for the right words to use.  
“Keito,” he begins, still unsure of what to say, of _how_ to say it “Promise me you won’t get mad.”  
It’s a start, Leo supposes, even if it could be better, he knows when Keito puts down the newspaper and throws him a death glare. “What have you done?”  
“This isn’t a promise!”  
“Tsukinaga.” Keito pushes his glasses up his nose “What have you done?” he repeats.  
“We’re friends, right?”  
“It depends on your answer.”  
“Hasumin,” Leo’s voice sounds like he’s on the verge of crying or falling on the floor, hugging Keito's legs and begging him to spare his life. Leo wonders if it would work. “It won’t be as bad as it sounds and-”  
“Just say it.”  
“I need you to pretend you’re dating me for a while.”  
“What?”  
“You heard me!”  
“No way.” Keito replies blunty.  
“Uh, what a quick reply!” Leo tilts his head, letting his eyes wander for the room, behind Keito, anywhere to not look at him directly “However, I think it’s a bit too late to say no, wahah...”  
Keito frowns “What do you mean?”  
It can’t be that bad. That’s what he told himself just a couple of hours ago.  
Leo takes a deep breath before speaking again “I told Mikejimama we’re dating.”  
Keito falls silent, eyes wide and Leo’s aware, for all the years they’ve known each other, that this is not a good sign. It’s a matter of seconds before the guy in front of him will explode.  
“You did _what_?”  
“I told you, it’s not as bad as it s-”  
“Do you ever think before you speak? _Us_ dating?!”  
“Ah?! Are you insulting me?! Are you saying you wouldn’t date me?!”  
Keito brings a hand to his forehead, looking defeated “I can’t believe you,” he sighs, and Leo can’t believe himself either, actually, but he somehow got into this situation. Some hours ago, when he was in that nice cafè with Madara, this looked like a solution. A good one. Now, he’s not so sure anymore, but it is too late to take it back. “Can I at least know the reason why you spread such a rumor?”  
Of course Leo lied. They are not dating. And Leo's aware, he would be the last person on earth Keito would choose to go out with. They ended up as roommates, but that doesn’t mean anything; they’re friends - maybe - and they manage to have a peaceful relationship - when Keito is not mad at him - but that’s the end of it.  
“You’re gonna think I’m stupid!” Leo pouts and lies on the couch.  
“I already think you’re stupid, to be fair, so I don’t see a problem with your statement.”  
It’s Leo’s turn to shoot him a look. Why did he say that lie? It’s quite simple: an impulse. A desire to stop the uncomfortable feel that was building up in his chest when Madara, with a smile and pink cheeks, told him that Naru, the person he loves, loves him back. That he is happy with him and that Leo is the first one he told about it. As Madara’s best friend, this should have made him happy, but not today, not the day he decided to gather up all his courage and confess his feelings. He was too late and couldn’t do anything about it, so he fell in his own trap like an idiot. 

“... So I said the reason why I wanted to meet him was to tell him about… you know…” Leo gestures towards Keito “... Us. Me and you. Dating.”  
“It was the worst idea you have ever had.”  
“It won’t last for long! I promise you! We can fake a fake break-up! Not too soon, or it would be weird!”  
“Wait, let me sum up what you just said, would you?” Keito is now walking back and forth across the room, arms crossed in front of his chest “You set up a meeting with him to confess but instead you ended up telling him you’re already dating someone,” Leo nods “and the only reason you did that is because he’s the one who’s actually dating another person.”  
“Yes.”  
Keito stops in the middle of the room “Do you realize how _stupid_ this sounds?”  
“Keito! You’re mean!”  
“I’m just reasonable, unlike you.”  
Leo groans “You’re saying you’re not going to help me…”  
It’s not like Leo didn’t expect it. Of course, he should have talked about this with Keito instead of messing up like he always does, or maybe - just maybe - he should have been honest with Madara, his best friend. Who is he, lying bluntly to one of the most important people in his life. Lying right in front of the person he claims to love. For what? Nothing more than plain jealousy, than sadness, than regret because he’s been there, right beside Madara, _for so long_ yet he never noticed that his heart was being slowly taken away by someone else. What kind of friend he is? Keito is right: he really is stupid. He should apologize with Madara and he should apologize with Keito as well.  
When Leo’s about to open his mouth, Keito is the one who speaks again “I didn’t say I’m not going to help you…” he mumbles, adding a soft “I seriously can’t believe you” and a “You’re incorrigible” right after.  
Leo blinks. Once, Twice. The weight on his chest suddenly melts away and a smile as bright as the sun parts his lips. When he sees that line on his friend’s face, the sparkle in his emerald eyes, when he feels that weird twist in his stomach, Keito realizes Leo is not the only one who made a very bad decision that day. 

He’s just made the worst decision of his life too. 

“Wahahah Keito! I love you!” Leo gets up, and like a cat jumps on Keito, wrapping his arms around his neck. Keito tries to complain at the sudden closeness, but Leo ignores him “Thank you! I love you! You’re not going to regret it!”  
Keito sighs.“I’m already regretting it right now.” 

(...)

“First of all,” Leo says “We need practice.”  
“Practice.”  
“Practice, so we can look like a _real_ couple, you know!” Leo nods energetically and steals yet another candy from Keito's hands “We need to get rid of your informal behaviour! You can’t call me Tsukinaga anymore!”  
“Wait-”  
“No Tsukinaga I said!”  
This is going to be the longest day of Keito's life “How should I call you, then?”  
“Leo? It’s my name.” he turns up his nose “I don’t like this candy!”  
“That’s because I didn’t buy this for you! Stop eating all of it!”  
“Uuuh Keito is being mean again!” he puts his hand on the table and leans towards Keito sitting across from him “Apologize! Make amend! Call me with my name!”  
“... Leo.” Keito says and the name tastes weird on his tongue, so he tries again “Leo-kun?”  
Leo approves with a smile and Keito finds himself thinking that it doesn’t sound that bad. It feels weird, that’s for sure, but it is not… unpleasant. _Leo-kun_ , it has a nice ring to it.  
“Leo-kun it is then! You’re doing good!”  
Leo seems too at ease and it’s weird for someone who got his heart and hopes shattered just a couple of hours ago. It is true that Leo is the kind of person who hides his monsters behind his cheerful personality, the kind of person who covers up the sadness with the brightest smiles and the loudest voice, almost as if he’s never experienced the weight of the world crushing on his weak body. But Keito… Keito knows this isn’t true, even though they never talk about it. They know each other better than they think. Leo knows Keito sometimes likes to take a break from being the serious type and that he’s more light-hearted that people would think by looking at him. And Keito, Keito is well aware that Leo is much more than eyes can see. 

He wonders if this is the reason why he accepted to take part in his stupid plan, after all, if the only reason why he accepted all of this is because, deep down, he knows Leo needs something to distract his mind - his heart - from the pain. Keito has gone through something similar himself, after all. Who better than him could understand him? 

“Uuchuu! You could take me out on a date!”  
“There’s absolutely no need for me to do it.”  
“Where would you take me? To the cinema? Or, uwah, a fancy restaurant?!”  
“I’m sure they would proceed to kick us out because of you in, uhm, five minutes at last.”  
“Keitooo! Terrible! A terrible fake-boyfriend! Little John!” Leo turns his head toward the couch, where their big old cat is resting peacefully. However, hearing Leo’s voice, she opens a little eye and looks at him. After finding a home for the kittens, Little John was all alone at school and so, after graduation, both Leo and Keito decided that taking her in with them was the best thing to do “Little John, your mom is hurting me! Here!” he brings a hand on his chest, on his heart “Right here! My feelings!”  
“Stop bothering the cat.”  
“Mpfh.” Leo holds out his hand on the table “Give me your hand.” He changes the subject quickly and when Keito hesitates Leo adds “Practice” so Keito is not in a position to refuse and, not really convinced, he lets his hand rests on Leo’s.  
None of them moves at first, their hands touching lightly, getting to know each other. Keito thinks that this whole “practice” thing is useless for Leo since he doesn’t have any problem when it comes to show affection. It always looks so natural and easy for him.  
Leo’s fingertips run slowly along Keito's palm - _it tickles_ but Keito stays still. Leo’s fingertips brush gently against Keito's. Leo’s hands are smaller and warm, the hands of an artist who spends time writing music wherever he has the opportunity and on every available surface.  
And surprisingly enough, Leo’s fingers fit perfectly in the spaces between Keito's.

With their fingers interlaced, Leo smiles and Keito finds himself thinking that maybe - just maybe - Leo is right: this whole idea is not as bad as it sounds. 

Little John looks lazily at their owners from the corner of her little eye, waves her tail, and then rolls on her side ready to fall asleep again.


	2. this place is a shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The days he spends with Leo are always a surprise, no matter what. Keito is sure by now that you get to learn something new about Leo every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long why am i like this. anyway. thank you for all the comments and kudos so far, they made me very happy!! ;;  
> once again, thank you dorothy and nari!!  
> here we go

If Keito had to describe the last five days of his life he would use one, simple, word: stressful.  
As he adds some orange on the canvas, he does his best to ignore the annoying _bzzz_ his phone makes with every message he gets. He doesn’t even need to read them, he already knows what they’re going to say anyway, nothing that his eyes haven’t seen in the past days.  
This is all Leo’s fault - of course - who insisted, saying that talking about their “relationship” on his Twitter account and Facebook page would have been helpful - “It will make it more real!” he said, while typing on his phone, and Keito couldn’t do anything to stop him.  
However, as much as Keito hates to admit the defeat, Leo was right: it did make the whole concept of them dating more real. A lot of people believed it. And that’s when he started getting messages from his friends “Hasumi-dono! Congratulations!” Souma said and “Tsukinaga? Seriously?” was Kuro’s comment instead. He didn’t want this whole situation to reach his family out of all people, but to his surprise he got a message from his brother as well “Isn’t Tsukinaga that guy who beat you at the archery competition that one time? I’m surprised!”

Keito sighs, putting down his brush and taking a moment to lose himself in the warm colors of his painting.  
Leo really is a troublesome person, but he has to endure just a little longer. All of this is not going to last anyway, and everything will go back to normal soon enough.  
It hasn’t been _that_ hard so far, if he has to be honest; they even tried to go out and hold hands in public, which was embarrassing and felt wrong at first, but he somehow got used to it and the rest of the day went on pretty smoothly. Leo never looked uncomfortable, so Keito supposed it wasn’t really a problem for him to begin with. He’s not surprised.  
He’s not surprised even when Leo bursts into his room, yelling his name - “Keito!” - and throws himself on the bed gracelessly.  
“How many times have I told you to knock. It’s a thing people do, but it looks like you can’t get the hang of it.”  
“Annoying!” is the only comment he gets back from Leo, who adjusts himself on the bed instead and pays attention to what Keito's doing only in that moment “Oh, you were painting? Wahahah! That’s beautiful!” he rests his head on the top of his hand, legs swinging “A sunset? What a lovely and romantic view… So you do have those kind of feelings as well?”  
Keito frowns on the spot “What are you-”  
“Shhh!” Leo gets up on his knees, searching for his pen in the pocket of his jacket “My inspiration! I can feel it! Argh, this is your fault, your painting’s fault!”  
“You’re not going to write on my wall!” Keito warns him.  
“Hasumin!” Leo complains, wrists now blocked by Keito's hands - who risked to ruin and scatter his art on the floor to save the rest of his room.  
“Seriously, you’re such a nuisance!”  
“Ahhh! My music! It’s drifting away from me! You’re ruining my work, the work of a genius! How does that make you feel? Do you feel guilty? Do you?! You should feel terrible! A monster! Aliens wouldn’t treat me this way!”  
“Go living with them then.”  
“I’ve been trying for a while, actually!”  
Keito sighs “What are you here for, Tsu… _Leo-kun_?”  
“Oh, right! I almost forgot, wahahah!” free from Keito's hands, Leo reaches for his phone, which lies abandoned on the bed. He proceeds to tap three times on the display before he shows it to Keito, whose eyes run on a message which is clearly an invite to a party. For the both of them. He raises an eyebrow “A party?”  
Leo nods “A party! It’s from Mikejimama!”  
Mikejima. The reason why he is in this mess now. Leo doesn’t seem bothered by it, and Keito wonders how much it hurts for him to smile the way he’s doing right now. “Do you want to go?”  
"It's a housewarming party." Leo says simply "You know, Mikejimama and Naru..." his words trail off. They're moving out together, that's what couples do. Well, not all of them, and not so fast, but Mikejima and Narukami have been friends for a while before dating, so it doesn’t sound weird. “I think you should come too. Our old friends will be there! Well, some - maybe most! - of them, anyway!”  
Keito knows what he’s trying to implying: people will see them, together, which would be a good opportunity for them - they aren’t practicing this whole fake dating thing for nothing, after all.  
“Are you _sure_ you want to go?” Keito can’t help but ask.  
There’s a glimpse of sadness in Leo’s eyes, it flashes for a moment and then disappears again as fast as it came. Leo’s shows a smile once again. “Yes.”  
“I see.” he accepts then “When’s the party?”  
“In two weeks.”  
“Why did he invite us two weeks prior?”  
“Well, he’s trying to prepare everything as good as he can, I suppose!” Leo replies and flops on the bed again.  
A lot of people. The thought of meeting his ex classmates makes something warm bloom in his chest, it is kind of a comforting feeling - not for all of them, of course, exclusions applied - but the idea is… nice. So nice he has to force himself to hide a smile behind his usual, stoic expression.  
“Now that you’re done, leave my bed.”  
“Uuuh! But I’m comfortable here!”  
“I said leave!”  
“Hasumin! You shouldn’t be this rude to your boyfriend!”

Two more weeks. Two more weeks.

(...)

The days he spends with Leo are always a surprise, no matter what. Keito is sure by now that you get to learn something new about Leo every day. The way he tugs his hair around a finger when he speaks absently, the way he brushes his hair in the morning, what he likes to eat for breakfast or how he walks back and forth when he speaks on the phone. Looking at them this way, they’re not important information. No one is ever going to need to know for how long Leo stays in the shower or how his first expression in the morning depends on which side of the bed he will wake up on.  
They’re all trivial things, and despite they have been living together for a while now, sharing an apartment and consequently most of their time, Keito never noticed them. They all appeared at him as a surprise, suddenly, as if he was just getting to know Leo for real. 

They were having Chinese food for lunch when Keito asked “Tell me something you know about me.”  
Leo’s hands stopped midway to his plate, chopsticks in hands “That’s kind of a weird question. What do you mean exactly?”  
“Something trivial about me. Something people wouldn’t even notice.”  
“Uwah? Uh, let’s see…” Leo put the chopsticks back on the plate before replying “You drink tea every day, usually at the same hour in the morning and in the afternoon.”  
Keito tried to play it off “Almost everyone knows it.”  
“Not wrong,” Leo agreed “You like to check the last page of the newspaper first thing, you wash your face three times when you wake up, you never, never forget your glasses or your art supplies around the house which is very cool because I would lose them everywhere. I mean, my papers and pens are everywhere already!” Leo chuckled and raised his face to look at Keito “Was it better?”  
Keito didn’t speak a word, but silently nodded. While Leo went back to finish his meal, Keito realized he was the real idiot: all this time, he’s been the one who never really payed attention for real. 

(...)

Keito rolls on his bed once more, but what it seems to be ahead of him is nothing but a sleepless, long night.  
The room is buried in darkness, so Keito reaches and turns on the lamp on the bedside table. A deep sigh escapes his mouth as he rests on his back, eyes wandering first on the ceiling, then falling on the clothes left unfolded on the desk near his sketchbook and pencil cases. He seriously needs to clean his room, but he’s having so much on his mind lately that he didn’t get around to do it. Maybe he can do it when he wakes up - if he’ll be able to fall asleep in the first place, since his mind seems to be more awake than ever, while his body is clearly telling him that he needs some rest.  
Another sigh fills the room before Keito decides to throw the blankets aside and get up. If he can’t sleep he can always find some comfort and company in a good and warm cup of tea.  
He puts on his glasses and then walks past the painting he has yet to finish, the drawings on the wall - mostly landscapes - and then he leaves his room, closing the door behind him. Having memorized the apartment, he doesn’t need to turn the lights on as he walks down the corridor that leads to the kitchen. Also, he doesn’t want to risk it and wake up Leo; it’s already hard to deal with him during daytime, and Keito doesn’t really want to know how he would act in the middle of the night as well, thank you very much.

Keito tries to make as little noise as possible while making tea, putting the tea cup on the table, pouring the boiling water into the teapot. 

Then he hears it.  
A sound that has nothing to do with him, or with what he's doing. It doesn't even come from the kitchen and Keito wonders if he didn't fail and ended up waking up Leo. He curses himself, but stays still and waits. Wait for what, he doesn't really know. Wait for _that nuisance_ to appear on the door, maybe, with a sleepy expression painted on his face and long hair plastered in a mess because he forgot to let it down before falling asleep; and then, _that voice_ , his voice, calling his name - "Keito! You're awake too, wahahah!" - as lively as ever, even though he has just woken up and even though the clock on the wall tells him it's nearly three a.m.

However, none of this happens, and Keito almost feels like he's imagined the sound that brought him to stop. Until he hears it again. 

He frowns on the spot, and slowly puts down the teapot on the table near the cup. 

Keito walks back and stops in front of Leo's room, he puts his ear closer to the closed door. It's only silence at first and Keito thinks he's really being ridiculous, standing this way in the dark. Maybe he's just tired. He should go back to the kitchen, drink his tea and try to sleep for real this time. Maybe his mind is finally giving up.  
And when Keito's finally ready to give up as well and retreat, on the other side of the door there's a loud thud followed by a yelp. 

Keito doesn't even knock and despite having scolded Leo _so many times_ for the same thing before, he bursts into his roommate's room.  
"Tsukinaga!"  
The first thing Keito sees is paper, it's literally flying everywhere, it's scattered on the floor, the desk, the bed. Then, Leo, on the floor as well, rubbing his back with a painful expression.  
He raises his head and lets out a gasp when his eyes meet Keito's “Keito,” the room is illuminated only by a feeble light “I’m sorry I woke you up, wahah… I made a mess again…”  
Something is off, Keito can feel it, that’s not the reaction he expected, that’s for sure, and even Leo’s voice sounds… weird. As if it’s not really coming from him.  
And when Keito turns on the light, Leo covers his face and all is clear in his mind.  
“Tsukinaga,” Keito's voice is firm as he walks near him, still on the floor, hiding - from what? Keito? Himself?  
“I told you to not call me like that… Ah!” Leo jerks when Keito, kneeled in front of him, takes his wrist in his hand. It’s different from that morning - kinder.  
“Leo-kun,” he agrees with a sigh “What happened here?”  
Leo stays silent for a moment. “I can’t compose anymore…” it’s a muffled whisper and Keito almost misses it “I can’t do it. It’s happening again.”  
Again, that’s the key word. Keito's eyes catch the paper sheets crumpled and thrown around the room, along with the uncapped markers. The condition of Leo’s room makes his heart sink. “I suck at everything but composing! If I can’t even do that what am I even worth for!”  
Leo’s face is never this red, his eyes never look this heavy, he never looks this fragile, this broken. “Composing is the only thing I’m good for and now it left me. I don’t want to go back to those days, I don’t want this.”  
There’s nothing poetic in the fall of a king, nothing romantic in the way he slips off his throne to break into pieces on the ground, leaving his kingdom to crumble after him. Keito vaguely remembers the first time in which Leo was abandoned by his music and disappeared, too ashamed to show himself to the crowd. The king, who always shone brighter than any star, brighter than the sun itself, suddenly forced himself to a life of darkness, in the pit of his own self-loathing.

Keito should have stayed in his room. But now… He can’t really leave Leo alone, can he? “What are you saying?”  
“The truth.” despite how red his cheeks and eyes are, Leo’s gaze is harsh and it doesn’t suit him at all. Keito finds himself thinking that he prefers when Leo’s eyes are softer when they lie on him, he likes when Leo’s eyes shine, he likes Leo’s smile and he likes the light that comes from Leo in everything he does “I’m supposed to be a genius, but” Leo huffs a bitter laugh, throwing a look around; _look, this is my kingdom, that’s all I have left, I’m surrounded by misery, how can you address to this as a work of a genius?_ “I can’t even live up to my own expectations.”

For how long has Leo been hiding this way? For how long has he been putting music over his well-being? He didn’t notice and Leo didn’t tell him. Keito doesn’t know which one hurts more.

“Composing is not the only thing you’re good at.” Keito says slowly, so Leo can catch any word. He’s scared that, no matter what, the person in front of him won’t be able to hear his words. But Leo hums, acknowledging him, waiting for something more. He _needs_ to hear more. He needs to believe Keito’s words are real and there’s still something out there waiting for him, even when the music in his head dies and there’s only silence filling his ears and it’s loudest than any other sound.  
Keito's thumb draws invisible circles on Leo’s wrist. Leo lets him. The touch of Keito's fingers is comforting and it gives him something to focus on, a link to reality. He’s not lost yet, or maybe he has nowhere to get lost in.

“You have, how they said, divine dancing ability.” Keito underlines with a smirk.  
Leo runs his fingers through his hair, a soft laughter leaving his lips “They exaggerated.”  
“You’re good at archery,” Keito adds “You’re way more skilled than me. If you showed up more often for club activities I’m sure we would have gone very far.” he does believe it, he says with no resentment. Sure, it still hurts a bit, thinking about how Leo beat him at an archery competition and how upset he was in the end - so much he kicked a Buddha statue and his brother smacked him for it; but it’s in the past.  
Leo scratches his nose, not really convinced “Following the rules was a pain though…”  
“You love your friends.”  
Leo looks at him with questioning eyes “This is not a real talent.”  
“It is,” Keito replies and smile softly “You make people feel loved and appreciated, no matter what they do, you will always love them. Not everyone is capable of doing so. You give people… Hope, I believe. It’s a pure feeling.” Leo is maybe the purest person Keito has ever met. Leo puts everything else before him. “You’re good at making people feel good. At making them feel happy. Having you around is… not bad.”  
Silence falls between them and Keito bites his tongue. He believes in every word he said, as cheesy as he may sound. He likes having Leo around, even if he barely shows it. Leo’s presence is just… good. Warm and radiant as the sun. 

Leo tilts his head and drops his eyes on the paper that covers most - if not all - of the floor. “It wasn’t enough though…” he mumbles and Keito waits for him to speak again “It wasn’t enough. I loved him, but of course he didn’t love someone like me back.” Leo’s hand shakes under Keito’s fingers “They didn’t love me back… People always chose my music over me. My music is all that matters. Without it I’m a ghost and ghosts can’t be seen by people. And for this very reason, ghosts can be loved. I need my music to be real. I-”

That’s enough. Keito cups Leo’s face in his hands and lets his eyes fall into Leo’s. “Your music doesn’t make you any less real,” Leo tries to open his mouth, probably to differ, but Keito shuts him up again “No buts. You’re _you_. And then, there’s your music. Falls happen, your inspiration won’t be here with you at any given moment. It’s the same with drawings, after all. Art takes time. Recovering yourself takes time.” he underlines his last sentence “Failing is part of life, of course, you can’t always succeed in everything. But if you do fail, it doesn’t mean you life is over. Of course it’s not good… You can reach the bottom, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get up and try again.”

Emerald, wide eyes, gives him a surprised but grateful look before moving away, looking behind Keito, on the floor, anywhere to break that connection because Keito has seen enough and his watery eyes are not something Leo wants to add to the list. He doesn’t want to cry in front of Keito. Keito doesn’t deserve to deal with this too. 

“I’m not the only one who’s good at making people feel good.” he says instead.  
Keito blinks. Twice. He lets go of Leo’s face and hides a cough - and a brush of pink on his cheeks - behind his hand “If you say so.”  
When Leo looks up he’s smiling. It’s not his usual smile, but it’s a first step to recollect its original beauty. “I’m sorry I woke you up, I didn’t mean to. Everything fell…”  
“It’s not your fault, I was already awake . I couldn’t sleep.”  
Leo nods. He understands the feeling way too well. “Are you tired?”  
He feels exhausted right now “A bit.”  
Leo scratches his cheek in a nervous and kind of embarrassment gesture “Do you want to sleep here?”  
Keito's first instinct should be to say _no_ , to refuse, to walk away. “To sleep where?” he points out instead “On the paper?”  
Leo pouts “I can clean up this mess! And-”  
Keito doesn’t want to refuse, not really, afraid that if he leaves him alone Leo will fall again in a blink of an eye. If Leo has to fall, he can at least be there to catch him this time.

Keito’s room is way less of a mess than Leo’s, and they both fit in the bed comfortably enough.  
“Keito?” Leo calls him in the dark.  
“Mh?”  
“Thank you.”  
“Sleep.”  
“Annoying.”  
They both smile.

Leo, on the floor, surrounded by his paper sheets, reminded him of incense, of the slowly process of it burning and falling into pieces. Ghosts can’t be seen by people and for this very reason, ghosts can’t be loved. That’s what Leo said.  
But Keito, Keito is there and he sees him and he knows, he’s not the only one. 

Tomorrow, if Keito feels like it, he will help Leo clean up the mess in his room. They will open the window and let the light in. 

Tomorrow, he will make some tea for both of them and he will get around to drink it this time.

**Author's Note:**

> talk keileo to me on twitter @jikunorasen


End file.
